You can’t order a Barack Obama yard sign because the $8 you have to pay is considered a political donation.
A. Since when did you have to pay for yard signs?
B. How do I get one (actually, I want 5)?
This post is in: Election 2008
You can’t order a Barack Obama yard sign because the $8 you have to pay is considered a political donation.
A. Since when did you have to pay for yard signs?
B. How do I get one (actually, I want 5)?
Comments are closed.
Warren Terra
I’d be glad to help if I were in Georgia. If no-one more convenient steps up, let me know and I’ll order some for you (I assume John can dig out my email address).
Whether you have to pay for swag is highly variable. I got my Obama sign free when they were handed out at a rally in the primaries, and campaign offices in other races in other years have often made them available free. But there are reasons to ask for donations: other than the obvious pennypinching reason, there are recordkeeping reasons. It’s good for Obama to have the contact information of people who support him, and small (sub-$200) donations/transactions don’t have to be reported individually, so the contact information of small donors is proprietary information the campaign owns for GOTV and other organizing.
RandyH
Look up your local Obama campaign office. There must be one in Atlanta. They should be able to hook you up (probably even for free.)
Zifnab
Since they don’t pay for themselves.
Uh… give your $8 to a real American and ask nice?
That’s right, Mike. Americans have once again boxed your Canukian kind into a corner. You want a Barack Obama yard sign? Just put one foot across the border and try and take one. Come on. Try us. I dare ya.
Zifnab
And yeah, what Warren Terra said.
Michael D.
And you know that’s punishable by a pretty stiff fine, right? As stupid as it is, you’d get a fine, and I’d be charged with violating the law and would potentially be kicked out of the US on my ass.
Keith
I’m missing something here. Why wouldn’t you be allowed to make an $8 political donation?
Alistair
If you are a permanent resident, you can donate to a political campaign. If you are here on some sort of visa, then you can’t. If someone buys you a sign, however, you are free to put it on your lawn.
El Cruzado
‘cos us furriners can’t be making political donations.
We can however employ high-flying lobbists. As long as we have huge piles of $$$ somewhere.
Sensui
Why don’t you just buck it up and become a citizen? You complain enough about politics here and yet you don’t do the one thing that would actually get you a say in the matter.
It’s like hearing someone bitch about about politics but finding out they never bothered to register to vote.
Please, don’t let that stop you.
Mark
Try here. Not official but they get the point across and there’s a big selection.
Cool shirts here btw.
Michael D.
Nope. That would be a citizen making a donation on behalf of a non-citizen, which is illegal. Trust me on that. I’ve been down that road.
Ted
Forgot, Michael’s Canadian. [With their flappy little heads and their beety little eyes…]
BJ Bjornson
Is there anything stopping you from going out and getting some made? I seem to recall during the primaries a website that allowed you to make up your own sign for the different candidates and order it on-line.
Michael D.
Nothing I would like more than to become a citizen of this country. So when you figure out how a person who:
1. Can’t enter the green card lottery because he is a Canadian
2. Has no family here (besides my gay married husband who doesn’t count)
3. Works for an employer that doesn’t sponsor green cards.
4. Doesn’t have a truckload of money to invest to get the investment green card
…can become a citizen, please get back to me.
For what it’s worth, I love my job. I have it so good there. The only downside is that they don’t sponsor green cards. So maybe I need to look for something else. That would suck to have to do that though.
Scotty
Can you have someone buy one and instead of paying them back in money take them out to dinner or something of that nature instead? Technically you wouldn’t have bought the sign.
Scotty
You could also just make your own sign.
Atlliberal
I’ve been volunteering to register voters with a local Obama group north of the city. We have been giving away bumper stickers and buttons while registering voters. Does that count as donating too? Do we yhave to ask everyone we give a sticker to if they are a citizen? They still charge for the yard signs, though.
Is it really illegal if I bought a yard sign and couldn’t put it in my yard, so I put it in yours?
Calouste
Do you know how long that takes? 5 years from the time you get Green Card, if nothing goes wrong. And any time spend outside the US while you have a Green Card doesn’t count towards the qualification period.
Then there’s even getting to a Green Card. In the most optimal circumstances, (Masters/PhD, helpful employer) getting an employement based Green Card takes 18-24 months.
In less optimal circumstances, it can take 8-10 years.
JL
Guess you are to old to be adopted, huh. Make your own sign or have your partner take care of getting one.
Sensui
That’s an awful lot of cant’s that you listed there. If it was important to you, you would find a way.
Canadians can’t get green cards? Strange, that there seem to be Canadians that do get them.
Employer doesn’t sponsor? Get a different job. If it’s important to you to be a citizen that probably outweighs a cozy job. Lots of people do a lot worse to get here and become citizens.
Don’t have money? Take out a mortgage on your home (unless you are one of those people with 0 down, 2 mortgages, interest only…etc, in which case I don’t feel sorry for you) save some money, borrow some money, find a gay lawyer that will work on the case for less.
If you really want it, you can find a way to achieve it.
michaelw
Michael,
I’m in Atlanta and have been planning to get some bumper stickers and signs. I can add your order to my purchase if you like.
t jasper parnell
Want citizenship? Alls you need to do is become a world class athlete.
Ted
Don’t know why someone didn’t think of that yet. Michael, if you live with your husband, I’m sure it’s legal for him to buy as many as you want and put one on his/your front lawn.
MobiusKlein
I could buy a sign, and place it wherever I want where I have permission. I could buy 20, and ask my mom to display it, right? It’s still my sign, it’s just at my mom’s house.
Same effect if somebody let Michael D. display their sign at his home. No quid-pro-quo, no crime.
Sensui
Then why start to do anything if it takes a long time? We can’t stop global warming next week either so should we just give up? It takes years to earn a college degree, would you tell someone not to do it? That’s a really week argument.
Michael has stated before that he has lived here for a number of years and I’m taking him at his word on that. If he’d started 4 years ago he’d be 4 years into your (less than)optimal 8-10 years. He might not be able to vote this Presidential cycle or next, but he’d be moving towards the goal.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Noah
No Quarter is at it again!
slippytoad
If you get a yard sign, they ask you for your personal info and treat it as a campaign donation. Don’t depth-charge the campaign by skating around the laws, please.
Calouste
I didn’t mean to say that it takes that long that someone shouldn’t do it, just that it takes so long that a large number of people who come to the United States on a working visa are still in the process. You made it sound like becoming a US citizen is straightforward. It isn’t.
Canadians can get Green Card, just not via the Green Card lottery, officially know as the Diversity Lottery. There are too many Canadians already in the US according to the rules of the lottery.
And regarding the money for the investors’ Green Card, you need $ 1,000,0000.
Keith
That something is the title of the thread. I must be going blind.
D. Mason
I would probably call the campaign HQ and if they cant help you then ask them which print shop they use. Call the print shop and oder up as many as you like.
Sensui
Well, that I could agree with. There’s a Tim Horton’s about a block from my house and now there’s always Canadians hanging around there speaking some bizarre French/English language. Very disturbing…
Well, Michael either needs to get a job that will sponsor him or start making more money.
Of course he could just go “straight” and marry a girl until he can get everything locked down. A friend of mine in Chicago was offered $20K by a Polish girl to marry her until she could get a green card. He’s in GA, so all he has to do is claim to be an “ex-gay.”
Warren Terra
RE the fear of illegality, so far as I know, it’s only illegal if the ineligible person compensates me for my donation. I can swing $8 (though preferably not $40) to get an Obama sign for a stranger whose blog posts I read.
libarbarian
Is there a law against being a “straw purchaser” of a street sign?
SpotWeld
Have you tried ebay?
I mean I assume it’s only a political donation if you buy it from the political operation itself, right?
HeartlandLiberal
We gladly bought and paid for one months ago, during the primary, and remains in our yard, and will until the day Obama takes office in January 2009.
We have also donated $250 to Obama’s campaign so far. And are not through yet.
Jon H
I expect that they’re sold online because people will buy them, and there’d be shipping to consider anyway. (Hell, they could probably sell Obama’s used washcloths if they wanted to.)
But that’s not the only way to get one. I assume campaign offices have them to give away for free, paid for out of campaign funds. You could probably have one of those easily enough. In Georgia they’d probably love to give you one.
There’s a map of offices at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/gaoffices
If they don’t want to give you one, you could always try Kinkos and make your own.
capelza
Wow, sensui…what is your problem?
Michael, couldn’t you make one on your comp and use it?
It’s stupid that you can’t put up a sign.
jnfr
I am very sorry that you can’t get citizenship even though you are married. My Canadian husband of 13 years decided to get citizenship this past year, because he dearly wants to vote against the Republicans in this election, and it was no problem at all. It’s really unfair that you can’t do the same.
Salty Party Snax
Innarestin’ comment from the Russian Foreign Minister on today’s stern statement by President Bush regarding the crisis in Georgia ..
“Yes, we listened to him and our reaction is that he has very poor speech writers.”
Yet another indication that President Bush remains a highly respected and effective world leader.
Ted
Another way is to join the military and get killed. When those news stories come around about non-citizens fighting in our military, and only being awarded citizenship posthumously, it’s enraging. I’m sorry, but if you join a branch of the US military, you should get automatic citizenship after being in for a year or two or some such requirement, or immediately if you’re deployed to a combat zone. If you’re fighting in Iraq or anywhere else with a US flag on your shoulder, it’s unacceptable that you or your family can’t enjoy the benefits of being citizens unless/until you’re killed.
Salty Party Snax
Of course, Insane McCain also had an innarestin’ statement to make today on the crisis in Georgia …
“In the 21st century nations don’t invade other nations.”
You can almost hear the birdies chirping, you know?
Krista
Didn’t we used to hear this stupid argument when Darrell was arguing against universal healthcare? That people who couldn’t afford healthcare should either find a job that offers it, or find a job that pays more so that they can buy it?
There are lots of obstacles in the way of things that people really, really want. To reduce it to “Simple! Get a better job!” is laughable, it’s so insulting. And I won’t even touch on your comment about Michael marrying a chick so that he can get his Green Card.
Ah, why am I even bothering with you? You’re probably trolling.
/removes fishhook from mouth.
That can’t be. You can never have too many Canadians. ;)
Greg D
Shit! It is easier for me to get my Japanese citizenship than it would be to get an American one? Bizarre! Nice being good neighbours!
Litlebritdifrnt
I don’t know what Mike’s rationale is but mine is “I was born a Brit, I will die a Brit”. I love this country, I truly do, I have lived here for 16 years, and really do wish I could vote in the election. However, my heart still lies with England and I am not willing to sever my ties to the motherland by denouncing my British citizenship, mainly because should anything untoward happen to my husband then I think I would be tempted to return home. (The life insurance might just be enough to cover the cost of transporting my pets :))
Mike, I can tend to get free stuff from the Obama campaign (they are based in my office). I will ask the staffer tomorrow about some yard signs, I know for a fact that if I can get them for free and then send them to you then it would not be a violation of the rules correct? In any event I will check with the staffer tomorrow and see what I can do.
Litlebritdifrnt
Mike – check out this t-shirt, I think I might get one.
http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/design/17221055
Dave_Violence
Why don’t you leave the country, you canuck freak?
That, or MAKE YOUR OWN SIGN, retard. You obviously have access to a computer, print out some stuff in color. Or, buy a big roll of paper and some spray paint?
Frank
If you buy a yard sign or a bumper sticker or whatever, it’s legally a contribution. Let’s say you contribute $100.00 and buy some stuff. When you look up your contributions, they will be $113.13, just to pull a number out of thin air.
Let’s look at it critically: It’s money well spent.
Gerald Curl
Maybe you can get an opinion letter from AG Mukasey saying it’s okay. It seems that violation of the law is not necessarily a crime, so you may be in the clear on this one.
J. Michael Neal
The obvious solution is to invade Canada, annex it, and make them all citizens.
Calouste
Tell you what, depending on what kind of working visa you have, you can’t even change jobs, unless your employer starts the employment based Green Card process for you first. Catch-22 or what?
Dave_Violence
USA FOR USA!
Ed Marshall
The obvious solution is to invade Canada, annex it, and make them all citizens.
Not all of us have forgoten the spirit of “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!”
phobos
That was going to be my suggestion.
Just avoid editorializing. Controversial slogans such as “Kill Whitey” and “I work for GOD you FUCK” are best left off of one’s front lawn.
lee
Someone brings up a good point.
You purchase it from someone else, for an amount that is greater than the price they paid.
Then it is not a political donation in your name, you are purchasing an item of memorabilia.
Or…just go )*(#$)(#* steal one from someone’s lawn (you could always leave them a 5 spot staked into the ground in its place).
jake
Your options:
1. Remain signless and downtrodden.
2. Make your own signs.
3. Ask a friend who can buy signs to give you one.
The Moar You Know
Whoops.
Sensui
Krista, that was a joke. Sorry that I didn’t put a smiley on the end for you. I thought it would be clear.
As to his either getting a different job or making more money. From what he and others have said, those are his only choices. Save marrying a “chick” which I don’t expect him to do.
Michael even said that he might have to change jobs and that it would suck to do so. I can understand that if you enjoy your job, but it comes down to what is more important to a person. If it’s possible to get a job that sponsors then do it and move on towards citizenship with all dispatch. If it isn’t important enough for you to change jobs over, then don’t whine about not being able to participate in the political process.
Yes it sounds cold, and cruel but I didn’t make the rules and I’m accepting them as Michael and others have laid them out. Those rules are not likely to change much for a long time (unless he sneaks into the country from south of the border rather than enter legally from the north and is willing to work for a lot less $$$).
Of course he could always steal a nuclear warhead and hold the world hostage until they paid him $1,000,000. /Dr Evil
Kirk
Michael,
Someone can gift you with a sign – as long as you do not give that person recompense, you are not contributing to the campaign.
The campaign can give you the sign, waiving contribution — or (and it’s a slippery loophole but courts have upheld it so far) in exchange for some of your time. As far as I know those are the only two… no, wait, there’s a third.
If you’re renting, the LANDLORD can purchase and place the sign. There are a couple of fuzzies that boil down to you have to agree, but nothing nasty or deportable.
Kirk
Chris Howard
However, my heart still lies with England and I am not willing to sever my ties to the motherland by denouncing my British citizenship
You wouldn’t have to. The UK doesn’t make you give up your British citizenship if you gain American citizenship. My sister-in-law is a dual citizen, in fact.
cain
You should be able to get dual citizenship. The U.S. if I recall is willing to do dual citizenship with any country that allows it. India for instance IIRC was planning on doing this.. although it’s been years since I’ve heard anything. Been waiting to get my citizenship back!
cain
Warren Terra
This has never affected me personally, but I’m fairly sure that the US does not recognize dual citizenship, and may even require some formal renunciation of foreign citizenship during naturalization. There are of course a lot of dual citizens, but that’s because their ‘former’ countries don’t recognize the US policy prohibiting dual citizenship and the US doesn’t press the issue, not because the US is formally cool with dual citizenship.
Splitting Image
Harder than you’d think. The Republicans would vehemently oppose this because the state of Canada would be worth about 50 electoral votes for the Democrats. If they made each province and territory into a state so that the Republicans wouldn’t be killed so badly in the electoral college (Alberta would vote Republican), it would mean 26 new Senators including about 20 Democrats. The Republicans might never be able to filibuster that chamber again.
*shakes head*
Sorry, I was trying to explain why that was a bad idea but it doesn’t seem to have come out right.
As for Michael’s problem, I say buy some good cardboard and some paint. The Family Coalition party more or less did that in the last Ontario election. The party printed up a basic sign and the candidates apparently filled their names in with black marker. If the party weren’t the Canadian Mike Huckabee contingent, I might have voted for them just for that.
Beej
This is way OT, but did anyone follow Noah’s link all the way to No Quarter? My God! I knew those people were just this side of certifiable, but what is going on over there is a mass delusion of the really scary kind. They’ve crossed the line into plain lunacy.
Incidentally, the Chicago Tribune reported on the “Obama wants to kill living babies” bullshit. Seems Illinois already has a law that doctors must try to save any viable baby born alive during an abortion. What Obama voted against was a bill that would have required doctors to take any and all measures, including extraordinary measures, to save any baby who was delivered breathing, with a beating heart, or any other sign of life, regardless of viability.
MikeJ
If you get a yard sign, they ask you for your personal info and treat it as a campaign donation.
Donations under $200 don’t have to be reported. They’re getting the personal info to hit you up for more cash.
As for the argument that having someone else buy the sign for you is making a donation for you, it’s only illegal if you reimburse them. If they donate in their own name, and you don’t repay them, they are free to do what they will with what the campaign gives them, i.e., they can give you the sign. “Reselling” the sign to you would look a bit fishy if the FEC decided to investigate, but the odds of that are quite low.
Chuck Butcher
Dual citizenship, the US does not require any renouncement, it also does not recognize the existance of such a thing – for very good international law reasons. If Michael got his US citizenship and got in a jam in Canada the US would claim him and ignore Canada’s claim to his citizenship as non-existant; for example. He also could not claim protection from the US to the Canadians – theoretically. People who claim dual citizenship are blowing smoke, the US says it does not exist in regard to it.
Dan
Make some, ya lazy bastard. Some markers, some posterboard. Sheesh.
Dave_Violence
Dual Citizenship
It’s downright un-American. And dumb. Be one or the other and pledge your allegiance accordingly.
pseudonymous in nc
I’d say ‘marry a lesbian’, but that’s a closed door. (I don’t mind that born-in-the-USAians have no idea how their immigration system works, but it does become an issue when immigration law is under discussion.) Tell ya what, I’ll steal some for you.
If Michael got his US citizenship and got in a jam in Canada the US would claim him and ignore Canada’s claim to his citizenship as non-existant
Utter BS. Not true in any way. If he got US ciitizenship and got in a jam in the USA, the Canadian consulate wouldn’t lift a finger. But there’s a note in the US passport explaining that the same applies to US citizens in countries where they hold that passport. So if he got US citizenship and got in a jam in Canada, the US would not lift a finger. Because in Soviet Canuckistan, he’d be a Canadian. ‘Not recognising dual citizenship’ means that US citizens in the US are Americans, regardless of other passports, and that US citizens abroad are Americans unless they’re in a country where they also hold a passport.
See, the US has no jurisdiction over other countries’ citizenship laws. Because they’re other countries.
I’m fairly sure that the US does not recognize dual citizenship, and may even require some formal renunciation of foreign citizenship during naturalization.
The US makes you swear an oath renouncing all other citizenships. Many countries treat that oath as worth jack shit, and suggest that you make a proper oath to them at their consulates if you’re serious. (Litlebritdifrnt: the UK is one of those countries.) Others take it a bit personally and take away your passport, though that number has steadily dwindled over the years. Others still want you to come ‘home’ and live with them as an adult or they’ll take away your passport — this is why Barack Obama is not a Kenyan citizen.